In the Hindu

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

 epic Mahābhārata

Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....

, the Pandava (Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

: पाण्‍डव ; also, Pandawa) are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu

Pandu

In the Mahābhārata epic, King Pandu is the son of Ambalika and Rishi Ved Vyasa. He is more popularly known as the father of the Pandavas and ruled Hastinapur.-Birth:...

 , by his two wives Kunti and Madri

Madri

In the Mahābhārata epic, Madri was a princess of the Madra kingdom and the second wife of Pandu.On his way to Hastinapur, King Pandu encountered the army of Shalya, King of Madra. Very soon, Pandu and Shalya became friends and Shalya gave his only sister, Madri to Pandu, as a gift of their...

. Their names are Yudhisthira

Yudhisthira

In the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, Yudhisthira , the eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti, was king of Indraprastha and later of Hastinapura. He was the leader of the Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War...

, Bhima

Bhima

In the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...

, Arjuna

Arjuna

Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...

, Nakula

Nakula

Nakula, also spelt "Nakul" was one of the five Pandava brothers according to the epic Mahābhārata. Nakula and Sahadeva were fraternal twins born to Madri, who had invoked the Ashvins using a mantra for a son, the mantra shared by Kunti...

 and Sahadeva

Sahadeva

Sahadeva was one of the five Pandava brothers according to the epic Mahābhārata. He was one of the twin sons of Madri, who invoked Ashvins using a mantra shared by Kunti for a son. His twin brother was named Nakula...

. Although, Karna

Karna

Karna or Radheya is one of the central characters in the epic Mahābhārata, from ancient India. He was the King of Anga...

 is told by Lord Krishna

Krishna

Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...

 that according to the laws and ethics he is the first son of Kunti making him the eldest Pandava. Hence, he is also a Pandava and one could say that there were six pandavas instead of five. All five brothers were married to the same woman, Draupadi

Draupadi

In the epic Mahābhārata, Draupadi, also known as ' is the "emerged" daughter of King Drupada of Panchāla and the wife of the five Pandavas. When Yudhisthira becomes the king of Hastinapura at the end of the war, Draupadi becomes the queen of Indraprastha...

. (Each brother also had multiple other wives.)

Together, the brothers fought and prevailed in a great war against their cousins the Kauravas, which came to be known as the Battle of Kurukshetra. They unknowingly fought their brother Karna

Karna

Karna or Radheya is one of the central characters in the epic Mahābhārata, from ancient India. He was the King of Anga...

 who was separated from them before their birth. (Karna was born previously.)

Story

The story begins with the introduction of the brothers' parents. Amongst the primary antagonists was Duryodhan  named Suyodhan at birth, but took the name Duryodhana (roughly meaning 'unconquerable') of his own free will . He was the eldest of the 100 brothers known as the Kauravas, who were born to the blind king of Hastinapura Dhritarashtra

Dhritarashtra

In the Mahābhārata, Dhritarashtra was King of Hastinapur at the time of the Kurukshetra War, the epic's climactic event. He was born the son of Vichitravirya's first wife Ambika, and was fathered by Vyasa. He was blind from birth, and became father to a hundred children by his wife Gandhari...

 and his queen Gandhari

Gandhari (character)

Gāndhārī is a character in the Hindu epic, the Mahābhārata. In the epic, she was an incarnation of Mati, as the daughter of Subala, the king of Gandhara, or the modern Kandahar, a region spanning northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan, from which her name is derived...

 (princess of Gandhara - modern day Kandahar).

The Pandavas were born to Kunti and Madri after Pandu's voluntary renunciation of royal life to do penance for having accidentally killed the sage(Rishi) Kindama and his wife. After the death of Pandu, Kunti brought the Pandavas back to Hastinapura. As children, the Pandavas and Kauravas often played together. However, Bhima (one of the Pandavs) was always at loggerheads with the Kauravas, particularly Duryodhana who refused to accept the Pandavas as his kin. This usually led to much tension between the cousins. Insecure and jealous, Duryodhana harboured intense hatred for the five brothers throughout his childhood and youth, and following the vile advice of his maternal uncle Shakuni

Shakuni

Shakuni , an avatar of Dvapara, the personification of Dvapara Yuga, was the brother of Gandhari in the Mahābhārata. He was portrayed as an extremely intelligent but devious old man, who was very fond of his nephew Duryodhana. He won the kingdom of the Pandavas' for his nephew, as a wager in a...

, often plotted to get rid of them to clear his path to the lordship of the Kuru Dynasty.

This plotting took a grave turn when Dhritarashtra had to relent to the will of the masses and rightfully appointed his nephew Yudhisthira as crown prince. This went against the personal ambitions of both father and son (Dhritarashtra and Duryodhana), and drove Duryodhana into such a rage, that he enthusiastically agreed to an evil ploy by Shakuni to murder Yudhisthira. Shakuni commissioned the construction of a palace in Varnavata, secretly built by incorporating flammable materials into the structure, most notably sealing wax(known as Laac). This palace was known as Laacshaghar. Duryodhana then successfully lobbied with Dhritarashtra to send Yudhisthira to represent the royal household in Varnavata during the celebrations of Shiva Mahotsava. The plan was to set the palace on fire during the night while Yudhisthira would likely be asleep. As Yudhisthira left for Varnavata, accompanied by his four brothers and mother Kunti, fortunately for the Pandavas, the plan was discovered by their paternal uncle Vidura

Vidura

Vidura was an important figure in the Mahabharata, a major Hindu epic. He was half-brother to the kings Dhritarashtra and Pandu of Hastinapura, born the son of the sage Vyasa and a lady-in-waiting to the queens Ambika and Ambalika of the city...

, who was very loyal to them and an extraordinarily wise man. In addition, Yudhisthira had been forewarned about this plot by a hermit who came to him and spoke of an imminent disaster. Vidura arranged for a tunnel to be secretly built for the Pandavs to safely escape the wax palace as it was set afire.
After their flight from the wax palace, the five brothers lived in the forests for some time, in the disguise of brahmins. They heard from a group of traveling sages about a contest (Swayamvara

Swayamvara

Swayamvara , in ancient India, was a practice of choosing a husband, from among a list of suitors, by a girl of marriageable age. Swayam in Sanskrit means self and vara means choice or desire ....

) being held in the Kingdom of Panchaal that offered the princess Draupadi

Draupadi

In the epic Mahābhārata, Draupadi, also known as ' is the "emerged" daughter of King Drupada of Panchāla and the wife of the five Pandavas. When Yudhisthira becomes the king of Hastinapura at the end of the war, Draupadi becomes the queen of Indraprastha...

's hand in marriage to the winner. The Swayamvara turned out to rely on the skills of archery, and Arjuna, who was a peerless archer, entered the competition and won. When the brothers took Draupadi to introduce her to their mother, they announced to Kunti that they had arrived with an excellent "alms". Kunti was busy with some work, and replied without turning to look at Draupadi (who was the "alms" referred to) ordering the brothers to share the "alms" equally amongst the five of them. Even when uttered erroneously, their mother's word was supreme for the Pandavas, who then agreed to "share" the princess, who was subsequently married to all five brothers.

When Dhritarashtra heard that the five brothers were alive, he invited them back to the kingdom, however in their absence, Duryodhana had succeeded in being made the crown prince. Upon the return of the Pandavas, the issue of returning Yudhisthira's crown to him was raised. Dhritarashtra led the subsequent discussions into ambiguity and agreed to a partition of the kingdom "to do justice to both crown princes". He retained the developed Hastinapura for himself and Duryodhana, and gave the barren, arid and hostile lands of Khandavaprastha to the Pandavas. The Pandavas successfully developed their land and built a great and lavish city which was considered comparable to the heavens, and thus came to be known as Indraprastha (which is now Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

). Reeling under the loss of half the lands of his future kingdom, Duryodhana's jealousy and rage were further fueled by the Pandavas' success and prosperity. Eventually, Shakuni sired yet another ploy and got Duryodhana to invite the Pandavas over to his court for a game of dice (gambling). Shakuni

Shakuni

Shakuni , an avatar of Dvapara, the personification of Dvapara Yuga, was the brother of Gandhari in the Mahābhārata. He was portrayed as an extremely intelligent but devious old man, who was very fond of his nephew Duryodhana. He won the kingdom of the Pandavas' for his nephew, as a wager in a...

 was a master at gambling and owned a pair of dice which magically did his bidding and produced numbers desired by him. Owing to this, bet after bet, Yudhisthira lost all of his wealth and eventually, his kingdom in the game. He was then enticed by Duryodhana and Shakuni to place his brothers as bets. Yudhisthira fell for it and put his brothers on stake, losing them too. He then placed himself as a bet and lost again. Duryodhana now played another trick and told Yudhisthira that he still had his wife Draupadi to place as a bet, and if Yudhisthira won, he would return everything to the Pandavas. Yudhisthira fell for the ruse and bet Draupadi, losing her too. At this point Duryodhan ordered that Draupadi, who was now a slave to him, be brought to the court. Duryodhana's younger brother Dushasana dragged Draupadi to the royal court, pulling her by her hair, insulting her dignity and asserting that she, like the Pandava brothers, was now their servant. This caused immense anguish to all the great warriors seated in the court, but each of them, namely, Bhishma

Bhishma

Bhishma or Bheeshma or Devavrata or 'Bhishma Pitamah' was the eighth son of Kuru King Shantanu who was blessed with wish-long life and had sworn to serve the ruling Kuru king. He was one of the most prominent characters of the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata. He was the grand uncle of both the...

 (the grandsire of the clan), Dronacharya (the teacher/guru

Guru

A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...

 of Kauravas and Pandavas) and others like Kripacharya and Vidura

Vidura

Vidura was an important figure in the Mahabharata, a major Hindu epic. He was half-brother to the kings Dhritarashtra and Pandu of Hastinapura, born the son of the sage Vyasa and a lady-in-waiting to the queens Ambika and Ambalika of the city...

 remained silent. Duryodhana then ordered Dushasana to disrobe Draupadi before everyone as a slave girl has no human rights. The elders and warriors in audience were shocked but did not intervene. As Dushasana began pulling Draupadi's sari off, she silently prayed to lord Krishna to protect her honour, and miraculously, regardless of how much of it dushasana pulled off, Draupadi's sari kept growing in length as if the fabric had no end. Thus lord Krishna saved Draupadi. Finally as the blind king Dhrithrasthra realized that this humiliation could prompt Draupadi to curse his sons, he intervened, apologizing to Draupadi for the behavior of his sons and turned the winnings of the dice game back over to the Pandava brothers, releasing them from the bondage of slavery.

Incensed at the loss of all that he had won, Duryodhana threatened suicide and coerced his father into inviting the Pandavas for one last round of gambling, the terms of which were that the loser would be condemned to 12 years of exile into forests, and a 13th year to be spent incognito, and if the cover be blown during the 13th year, another cycle of 13 years would ensue. Obeying their uncle's orders, the Pandavas played the round, and again lost to Shakuni's cheating. However, this time, their patience had been nearly pushed to its edge. During the 12 years of exile in the forest, they prepared for war. Arjuna performed penance and won the entire gamut of celestial weapons (Divyasatras) as boons from the Gods. The 13th year was spent masquerading as peasants in the servitude of the royal family of Virata, the king of Matsya. Upon completion of the terms of the last bet, the Pandavas returned and demand their kingdom to be rightfully returned to them. Duryodhana refused to turn Indraprastha over. For the sake of peace, and to avert a disastrous war, Krishna proposed that if Hastinapura agrees to give the Pandavas only five villages, they would be satisfied and would make no more demands. Duryodhana vehemently refused, commenting that he shall not part even with land as much as the point of a needle. Thus the stage was set for the great war, for which the epic of Mahabharata is known most of all.

The war was intense and was fought for 18 days over the course of which both parties worked around, bent, and even broke rules of warfare. At the end all 100 Kaurava brothers and their entire army was slain, with only three surviving on their side. The Pandavas too lost several allies but the 5 brothers survived. After having won the war, they returned to Hastinapura and Dhritarashtra renounced the kingdom. Yudhisthira was crowned, and after ruling peacefully for many years, the Pandava brothers and their wife departed for the heavens, taking a long journey through the Himalayas

Himalayas

The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...

. On this journey, one by one, Draupadi and the four younger brothers fell to their deaths, due to their various shortcomings. Only Yudhisthira, who had never abandoned (in fact some people say only thumb of Yudhisthira fell down, because he lied just once to Drona in the battlefield) sanctity and had always upheld his Dharma

Dharma

Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...

 completed the journey. Nevertheless, after completing a punitive separation, the four brothers and Draupadi were reunited with Yudhisthira in the heavens.

Krishna's help for the Pandavas

Lord Krishna being a well wisher of the Pandavas, helps them in various ways during the time of their ordeals from time to time as described below:

1) Krishna protected Draupadi's honour in the court of Hastinapur when Dushasana tried to strip her saree. Nobody was able to say any word against Duryodana including Bhishma, Drona and Kripacharya among others.

2) When sage Durvasa and his students visited Yudistra's hermitage during their exile to have food, the Akshaya paatra which used to produce huge amounts of food, was unable to supply any further food for the rest of the day. At such an odd moment, Lord Krishna appeared before Draupadi and Pandavas and said that he was very hungry. He ate the only last grain of food that was left in the Akshaya patra. The sage Durvasa and his students hunger gets quenched immediately by this act of Krishna. Thus, lord Krishna saved the Pandavas from the curse of Durvasa.

3) Nakula was very good in Astronomy. Duryodana, on the advice of Shakuni approached Sahadeva in order to seek the right time (muhurtaam) to start the Mahabharata war so that the Kauravas will be victorious. Sahadeva disclosed the same for the Kauravas in spite of knowing that Kauravas were their enemy, as Sahadeva was known to be very honest. Then, Lord Krishna planned to create an eclipse much before the beginning of the war. In the mean time, both Sun and Moon got shocked by lord Krishna's thought and appeared before Krishna stating that this will create a huge imbalance in the entire Universe. Then, lord Krishna smilingly declared that as Earth, Moon and Sun are together in one place, this in itself was an eclipse.

4) Lord Krishna rescued Arjuna from Karna's shakthi weapon by not exposing him to Karna, until Karna used it against Ghatotchkacha.

5) When Karna shot Nagastra on Arjuna, then Lord Krishna pressed the chariot and the chariot sinked by two inches below the ground, as a result of which the astra hit Arjuna's crown instead of his head.

6) When Ashwatama launched the Narayanastra on the Pandavas immediately after the death of Dronacharya, then lord Krishna rescues the pandavas army by instructing them to put down their arms and to surrender themselves completely towards the weapon.

7) When Bhagadatta

Bhagadatta

Bhagadatta, was the son of Narakasura. He was a king of the city Pragjyotisha in the epic Mahabharata. In the Battle of Kurukshetra, Bhagadatta fought on the side of the Kauravas. He was very well known to attack his enemies with his elephant in the warfare. In the Mahabharata war, he was...

 launched the Vaishnava astra on Arjuna, then lord Krishna intervened. Consequently, this weapon turned into a garland and fell on Krishna. The Vaishnava astra is an astra of Vishnu. By this way, that weapon came back to Vishnu and Arjuna was saved.

8) When Duryodana was about to meet his mother by being totally naked, then lord Krishna instigates him to wear the leaves of banana in order to cover his thighs before meeting Gandhari. When Gandhari removed her blindfold and looked at Duryodana's body, all of his body turned into an iron except his thighs as they were covered with leaves. This made the thighs vulnerable. This weakness was later exploited by Bheema in order to defeat Duryodana in Gadayudda.

9) Lord Krishna saved the pandavas when Ashwatamma launched an ambush attack on the pandavas camp during night. Consequently, Ashwatamma ended up killing the upapandavas (sons of Draupadi and Pandavas) instead of Pandavas.

10) Lord Krishna revived Parikshit who was killed in Uttara's womb by Ashwatamma's misuse of Brahmastra.

11) Lord Krishna saved Bheema from getting killed from the hands of Dhritarashtra when all the Pandavas came to meet him after the war. Dhritarashtra insists each one of the Pandavas to hug him. When, Bheema approached Dhritarashtra, then Lord Krishna instructed him to place Bheema's iron statue that was used by Duryodayana while practicing Gadayudda, before Dhritarashtra instead of Bheema himself hugging Duryodana's father. Dhritarashtra crushed the iron statue into pieces. Thus, lord Krishna prevented Bheema from getting crushed from the hands of Dhritarashtra.

12) After the end of the Mahabharata war, Krishna and Arjuna were to descend from the chariot. Lord Krishna being the charioteer, asked Arjuna to descend from the chariot first. It was against the practice followed those days, wherein, it was the charioteer who first descended from the Chariot followed by the Maharathi. So, Arjuna was surprised by this act of Krishna, and yet he heeded the his advice and descended from the chariot first. Krishna also descended from the Chariot. Lord Hanuman who was in the Arjuna's Flag also moved away from the Chariot. Then, soon, the chariot burst into flames. Arjuna asked Krishna as why did the Chariot burst? So, lord Krishna replied to Arjuna that the divine weapons hurled by Bhishma, Drona, Karna and Kripacharya on his chariot were the cause for the bursting of this chariot into flames. It was lord Krishna's and Hanuman's presence, the effect of these astras were postponed. So, if Arjuna were to descend after Krishna, then Arjuna would have got killed when the Chariot burst into flames.

Parents of the Pandavas

The first three of the Pandavas were the sons of Kunti1111, and the younger two were sons of Madri. Since Pandu had been cursed to die if ever he had intercourse with a woman, the actual fatherhood of the children is traditionally attributed to various gods, in virtue of a boon that Kunti had received from Durvaasa and had transferred to Madri. Thus, Yudhisthira

Yudhisthira

In the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, Yudhisthira , the eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti, was king of Indraprastha and later of Hastinapura. He was the leader of the Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War...

 was the son of Dharma

Dharma

Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...

, the god of righteousness; Bhima

Bhima

In the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...

 the son of Vayu

Vayu

Vāyu is a primary Hindu deity, the Lord of the winds, the father of Bhima and the spiritual father of Lord Hanuman...

, the wind-god; Arjuna

Arjuna

Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...

 the son of Indra

Indra

' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...

, the sky-god; and Nakula

Nakula

Nakula, also spelt "Nakul" was one of the five Pandava brothers according to the epic Mahābhārata. Nakula and Sahadeva were fraternal twins born to Madri, who had invoked the Ashvins using a mantra for a son, the mantra shared by Kunti...

 and Sahadeva

Sahadeva

Sahadeva was one of the five Pandava brothers according to the epic Mahābhārata. He was one of the twin sons of Madri, who invoked Ashvins using a mantra shared by Kunti for a son. His twin brother was named Nakula...

 the sons of the Ashwini Gods. Karna was also born of Kunti Devi, and was the son of Surya, the Sun God.

Iravati Karve has suggested in her book, Yuganta, that the actual father of Yudhisthira, or of all of the brothers, may have been Vidura

Vidura

Vidura was an important figure in the Mahabharata, a major Hindu epic. He was half-brother to the kings Dhritarashtra and Pandu of Hastinapura, born the son of the sage Vyasa and a lady-in-waiting to the queens Ambika and Ambalika of the city...

 (probably since he was considered to be an avatar of Yama

Yama

Yama , also known as Yamarāja in India and Nepal, Shinje in Tibet, Yanluowang or simply Yan in China, Yeomla Daewang in South Korea and Enma Dai-Ō in Japan, is the lord of death, in Hinduism and then adopted into Buddhism and then further into Chinese mythology and Japanese mythology. First...

), and that this was edited and hidden in the story to strengthen the claim for the kingdom by the brothers. Vidura had been cursed by Sage Mandavya in his last birth that he would take birth as a man and suffer the fate of never becoming a king despite having the qualities of a perfect ruler. And so he was born as Vidura.

However, Iravati Karve's theory has been criticised by many Mahabaharata authorities like Buddhadeb Bose and Nrsimhaprasad Bhaduri on grounds that the author of Mahbharata had no need to "hide" about Yudhisthira's birth when he apparently writes explicitly and undauntedly about all "illicit" relationships.

Pandavas description as per wife Draupadi

The Pandava brothers were collectively married to Draupadi

Draupadi

In the epic Mahābhārata, Draupadi, also known as ' is the "emerged" daughter of King Drupada of Panchāla and the wife of the five Pandavas. When Yudhisthira becomes the king of Hastinapura at the end of the war, Draupadi becomes the queen of Indraprastha...

. On one occasion, Draupadi was kidnapped and abducted from a hermitage in the forest by the wicked king Jayadratha

Jayadratha

In the epic Mahābhārata, Jayadratha was the king of Sindhu Kingdom . He was married to Dushala, the only sister of the 100 Kaurava brothers. He was the son of the sinful king Vridhakshtra.- Abduction of Draupadi:...

. When her husbands learned of the crime, they came in hot pursuit. Seeing them approach, Jayadratha asked Draupadi to describe them. Angrily, Draupadi told the king his time was up, and that the knowledge would do him no good. She then proceeded to give the description. (Mahābhārat, Book III: Varna Parva, Section 268.)

• According to Draupadi, Yudhisthira possessed a "complexion like that of pure gold, possessed of a prominent nose and large eyes, and endued with a slender make." Master of the spear. He was just, had a correct sense of morality, and was merciful to surrendering foes. Draupadi counselled Jayadratha to run to Yudhisthira and to beg for forgiveness.
• Draupadi described Bhima as tall and long-armed. In a display of ferocity, he was "biting his lips, and contracting his forehead so as to bring the two eyebrows together." The master of the mace, his superhuman feats had earned him great renown. "They that offend him are never suffered to live. He never forgets a foe. On some pretext or other he wreaks his vengeance."
• Arjuna she praised as the greatest of archers, intelligent, second to none "with senses under complete control." Neither lust nor fear nor anger could make him forsake virtue. Though capable of withstanding any foe, he would never commit an act of cruelty.
• Nakula, said Draupadi, was "the most handsome person in the whole world." An accomplished master swordsman, he was also "versed in every question of morality and profit" and "endued with high wisdom." He was unflinchingly devoted to his brothers, who in turn regarded him as more valuable than their own lives. The name Nakula generally means full of love and the male characteristics implied by the name are: Intelligence, Focus, Hard-Work, Handsomeness, Health, Attractiveness, Success, Popularity, Respect, and unconditional Love.
• Finally, Sahadeva was the youngest of the brothers, and like the others formidable in war and observant of morality. Master of the swords "Heroic, intelligent, wise and ever wrathful, there is not another man equal unto him in intelligence or in eloquence amid assemblies of the wise."

Conch shells

Before going to battle each warrior blew his conch shell to warn his enemies. In old days, each warrior in India had his own unique conch shell and hence had a unique voice of conch shell associated with himself.

• Yudhisthira: Anantha Vijaya
• Bhima: Paundra
• Arjuna: Devadatta
• Nakula: Sughosha
• Sahadeva: Manipuspaka

External links

• The Mahābhārata of Vyasa, translated from Sanskrit into English by Kisari Mohan Ganguli and published online at sacred-texts.com.